To Austria, Los Angeles and Lake Tahoe!
This has been one of my most diverse trip ever and one of the most unforgettable ones for sure. From the World Championships in Innsbruck to Voralpsee and all the way to Los Angeles California and later to stopping at San Fransisco before having a photoshoot in Lake Tahoe California. This trip was also one of the most painful ones too both physically and heart-wise but also filled with laughing and new friends 😍 <3 . I also got to experience my worst Airbnb experience ever!!! I got a call from the Airbnb’s security appartment a couple of weeks after I made my review of the place (croll down to read the specs :D).
Since I couldn’t compete I stayed in Innsbruck as a Black Diamond athlete and met my friends from abroad I used to hang with back in the days when I competed! We stayed at Barbara’s and Jacobo’s place in Bludenz which was only 45min from Voralpsee 🤤. So I got there once!!! Before the injury I planned to climb on the mega classic Speed but now I climbed only on the easier routes. That day was still the best day of that month and I climbed till I could barely even hang on the holds on a cooling down route! After that another week off so I could let my wrist rest before heading to Los Angeles.
Los Angeles
https://touchstoneclimbing.com/woman-up-climbing-festival-2018/
I got asked to be a part of a routesetting crew in Woman Up Climbing Festival 2018 in Los Angeles! I’ve never been a part of something like that before and can’t wait to do another one in 2019 in San Fran! More about the event and setting from Mountain Hardwear’s blog :) !
On my first night Mountain Hardwear booked a super nice airport hotel for me which felt more than welcome after my horrible Airbnb experience (thanks guys <333) . On the first evening I went down to the restaurant to read my book and an old couple from Canada offerred my dinner!!!! They said that I reminded them of their daughter who likes to read in restaurants. Awww States!!! Love being here!
The Touchstone gym took a really good care of us! We had our own super sweet Airbnb close to the Cliffs of id- gym, they brought us lounch, coffees, snacks, took us out every night and asked if there was anything we needed 🔥 . First the house felt like from the America’s next top model reality show (or more like a America’s next top setter 🤓) without any drama which would have interested any watchers. Our only drama was concerning of that mystic peanut butter which always leaked on to a different spots at the kitchen…
We worked really hard through the weak from morning till evening. Besides setting we had to forerun the boulders so we were quite smoked after setting. On saturday we got to enjoy the festival, be ready if there was something to change and on sunday I had my first clinic ever! It went better than I expected and luckily I had Flannery with me to help.
One day I’d love to do something similar what Flannery’s doing; be a freelance routesetter and travel around with a van. And Ohh! Have an own Makita drill set!!!! 🔥
At that time I was lucky to be busy and surrounded by new friends. I had an awful injury and what’s more, I broke up with my boyfriend after being 3 years together. That happened on my first morning in Los Angeles through a text message when I was still at the hotel. I had long days with not sleeping and trying to save my relationship. I’ll never forget the support I got from Jackie who said that it would be totally fine if I’d fly all the way to Denver and that I shoul’d go for it. We did really well with the long distance till that.
Photoshoot in Lake Tahoe and in the bay
After my clinic in Los Angeles we ubered to our place with Claire to pack up our stuff and headed to the airport. I landed to San Fransisco pretty late and on the next morning we had to get up at 4 to do some shooting at Twin Peaks. First I was quite crumpy but seeing the sun rising from the Bay area skyline, I was more than happy that we went.
In Lake Tahoe we shooted fall/winter collection but it was FREAKING HOT. I got a sun stroke every single day but it was all good! I got to climb a little and my wrist felt slightly better on crimpy routes. I was happy :).
The whole filming group (Louderthan11), models and everyone were such a happy people that I forgot all the bad things I was experiencing that time. On some days I wanted to disappear, be by myself and go to bed at 7pm… I was going through some shit and I could have not survived without all those amazing people I met on that trip <3 and Ethan and Franc. I was also a little afraid of going back to Finland where I had moved out of my place and started to get ready to plan of moving to Colorado. I had to start finding a new place and start figuring out what I wanted to do. Spring was so hard for me that I decided to take a little break from school and just focus on my self and things which made me happy. Without being able to climb it was even harder but I got a permission to start doing that soon again!!! Anyway… a got astrayed again! Back on the topic! :)
We wen’t to the Snowshed Wall and I got paired up with another stoker NIck! I got asked if I could try to onsight the Pump Lost, 13.b on the right side of the classic Cannibals route and wear a downjacket for the film. I was sweating inside the jacket, pumping out and no idea when I could fall since I had no idea of my fitness level. Before the chains, on the last part, I dropped the mike which started dangling on me and I got even more pumped when I tried to put it back. I was swearing in finnish and later out miking guy Mike asked me to translate them (I DIDN’T!!!) :D
Lake Tahoe was amazing with its solid and good granite! Boulders, sport routes and trad climbing crags were all so close to each other and in same spots so you could do all of those in one day! I wish we could have had more time to climb! But I’ll come back to do all of those ;) .
Here’s my instagram story video of Lake Tahoe! :)
Thank you guys for reading!